We're "La Resistance", and we want to save Terrance and Phillip and stop the war and stuff!
Neo: Either that, or bring the friggin' people the rest of the friggin' story! –Fumes-
Fine, fine! Please, buddy, do the disclaimer! I know you can do it, you're The One!
Neo: KOS-MOS rox doesn't own Xenosaga! But you see, it is the greatest video game ever. And I've seen a lot of video games. And a lot of spoons. But…there is no spoon. And the problem is choice. And I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico!
…th-thanks, Neo…
And as an added note, and an answer to many of my readers, yes. Yes, there will be romance for Jin. Unfortunately, it won't be until the early chapters of my version of Xenosaga 3. That's right, DKdL gets a sequel!
And for the sake of the story, chaos' eyes shall be blue from now on. There's been controversy between me and my friends on what color his eyes are…they're blue now. XP
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Xenosaga Episode II: Die Kraft der Liebe
Chapter 8: Ontological Shock
"Hehehe! Let's just blow them up! Let's blow all the freaking losers all the way to freaking hell! Yeah! Hehehe!"
"Jr., calm down!"
The red-head pyromaniac cocked his head to the side. "Actually, I think you should be the one to calm down, Shion! That attack back there, MAN…" he said. "I'm surprised Jin hasn't made it so that Allen can never ever be a father!"
Allen shot Jin's sword a wary glance and gulped.
"That's not what a sword is for…" Jin said calmly. "And besides, I might want a niece or nephew someday…"
Allen expelled a sigh of relief. "But…then again…" Jin muttered. In one quick motion, he drew his sword and swung at the area just below Allen's navel. Allen froze, his blue eyes the size of saucers. "Maybe I won't…" Jin re-sheathed his sword and looked at his sister, whose mouth was wide with horror and disgust.
"Jin! What did you do?" Shion snarled as Jr. waved his hands in front of Allen's face. The taller man remained frozen in place.
"I was merely making a point," Jin shrugged.
"Oh my God, I don't think he's breathing! Jin, I'm gonna kill you!" Shion yelled as she ran over to Allen. "Allen…" she murmured into his ear. "I know you can hear me…" Shion grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in, opening her mouth against his.
Allen inhaled sharply as he snapped back to reality. "Holy-" he gasped. "H-he could have killed me!" Allen said, pointing at Jin, who winked at Shion.
"That looks like the self destruct device. Let's activate it," Ziggy said, nodding towards some fuses on the floor just beyond where Orgulla was kneeling.
"All right! Let's light it up and blow this thing like Shion does to Allen! We'll show 'em!" Jr. whooped. He cried out as he felt Shion's foot smash into his shin. "Ooh, ooh, there's barely any skin there, only bone…" he whimpered, limping away from her. KOS-MOS' shotgun materialized in her arms, and she shot at the four fuses on the floor. Jr. jumped around merrily, giggling. Apparently, his shin was feeling much better.
"Okay, this place is going up in 30 minutes! Let's get back to the Elsa!" Jr. cried, grinning.
"Can you say 'funny farm'?" Allen whispered to Shion. She laughed and elbowed him in the ribs.
"I don't think Jr. can!"
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After a long, long trek back to the E.S.s, everyone in the group felt as though their ears were about to fall off. For the past twenty-two minutes, Jr. had been talking non-stop.
"…and then he came back to life! Smith shot him! But then Trin brought him back! It was crazy! Crazy and awesome!" Jr. concluded. "Hey, we still have eight minutes left! Let's roll!" he said, climbing up into the E.S. Asher. Jin followed suit.
"Do I have to go in there again?" chaos asked, pointing at the cargo hold.
"Yes," Jr. said quickly, shoving chaos in before he had a chance to react. He heard muffled cries of pain and anger from behind the metal door as he shut it. The rest of the party entered their E.S.s, not expecting what was going to happen next…
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Before the group of mechs could board the elevator, the E.S. Issachar appeared in the open air above them.
"Really!" The female pilot scoffed. "Neither my subordinates nor the Patriarch's toys are of any use. The Inquisition will not allow you to escape."
"No!" Jin yelled. He quickly clapped his hand to his mouth, hoping the others hadn't heard him. The opposing mech descended towards the group.
"Disengage your weapons and surrender!" Pellegri shouted. The E.S. Zebulun began firing its lasers at it in a vain attempt to shoot it down. Pellegri laughed and evaded its blows. "I repeat. Disengage your weapons and surrender!"
"This place is full of bitches!" Jr. snarled. "Jin! I'm leaving the weapons up to you. I'll handle navigation. The Asher's got moves like Willie Parker! We'll shove it in her face!"
"Right! KOS-MOS, set the E.S. Dinah's weapons to maximum output!" Shion commanded.
"Affirmative."
"Momo, are you ready?" Ziggy asked.
"Yes!" the realian happily replied.
"Come on, Jin! Let's shake this mech up and give chaos some bruises!" Jr. said, his eyes beginning to glow red.
The E.S. Dinah was the first to attack. On Shion's mark, KOS-MOS fired the arm rifles at Pellegri's E.S. She laughed again and easily evaded.
"M-man!" Jr. stuttered. "That's had some special tuning! Ah, well, it's no match for Asher! Jin, get ready to fire!" he yelled.
"Come on, come on…" Jr. muttered, waiting for Issachar to come into range. "Now!" he yelled to Jin. He closed his eyes, awaiting the beautiful sound of flying bullets to fill his ears…but it never came. "Huh? Jin?" the red head said, looking down at his co-pilot. Jin was sitting below him, his head hung, hands trembling on the controls.
"I-I can't do it…" Jin said, his voice shaky.
"Whaddaya mean you can't do it? She's right in the crosshair-AGH!" Jr. cried as the E.S. Asher was hit by the E.S. Issachar.
"Jin!" Shion yelled. "What was that?" Her brother didn't reply.
"Jr.!" Momo said as Ziggy began navigating over towards the E.S. Asher's location. "Go away!" she yelled, shooting the E.S. Issachar in the back. Pellegri grunted and whirled her mech around to face the Zebulun.
"Oh no you don't!" Jr. said, quickly switching the weapons back to himself. He raised the Asher's arm and fired the shotguns at Pellegri. She fought her way out of the deadlock and ran behind the Asher, whacking it repeatedly with its spear. The mech became more and more damaged after every second, but was unable to move because of the Zebulun's position. The sharp point of the weapon penetrated the cockpit of the Asher, jabbing Jr. in the back of the arm.
"Agh! Momo, move!" Jr. yelled as his arm began to bleed.
"Wait, Momo, don't move!" Allen said. KOS-MOS is in perfect position to fire!" Allen said.
"Allen is correct," KOS-MOS stated. "Shion. I will proceed to eliminate the enemy threat," she said. Shion nodded.
"KOS-MOS, f-"
Ping
Everything except for Shion froze. Shion gasped and looked around for Nephilim, but she wasn't there. Instead, just in front of the E.S. Dinah, Shion could see the little brown-haired boy. He looked to be about six or seven now. Their green eyes danced for a few silent seconds, but then the boy's head whirled to the right. His eyes brightened and he beamed as he began running towards the right. Shion looked next to him and saw Pellegri, leaning over with open arms. The child practically dove into her arms as Pellegri began to smile also. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed a kiss against his forehead. She picked him up, and they both looked directly at Shion…
"What? Pellegri? But…why?" Shion whispered to herself. Before she could say anything else, the two disappeared and the room returned to normal.
"Awaiting orders, Shion," KOS-MOS said. Shion nodded again, but before she could give KOS-MOS her orders, she lurched forwards and gasped, grabbing her head.
"Shion, are you okay?" Allen asked. Shion raised her head again, but her eyes were glowing bright green.
In the cargo hold of the E.S. Asher, chaos cried out and grabbed his chest. "Wh-what's going on?" he asked himself.
"KOS-MOS! You can't shoot her!" Shion cried desperately.
"What?" Ziggy asked.
"Why don't we just kill her?" Jr. snarled.
"Uh, I mean…" Shion's eyes began glowing brighter. "This place is about to fall apart! If we don't get out now, we're gonna die!" she cried. "We'll let her master take care of her! Let's bail out while we still can!"
"Actually, that sounds like a good plan," Momo said.
"Right," Allen said. Shion's eyes returned to normal as the E.S.s proceeded up and out of the deteriorating citadel.
"You! You can't run from me!" Pellegri screamed. "Cowards!" Just before the area gave way, she sped out of the stronghold, moving in the opposite direction of the heroes' mechs…
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"Hey, Sakura!"
"Nigredo!" Sakura said. Nigredo climbed the steps to the porch in the subconscious domain and sat down next to Sakura on the swing. He brushed a few strands of black hair out of his eyes and turned to look at her.
"Yeah. Uh, sorry Rubedo couldn't be here today, he and Albedo are suspended from the dive for a day because of the stunt they pulled in the recreation center," Nigredo said, pulling both legs onto the swing and holding them to his chest.
"It's okay. Those two can be wild sometimes..." Sakura's voice trailed off as she looked at the sky, her eyes dreamy. She was probably thinking about Rubedo… "Besides…this has something to do with what I told you the other day, Nigredo. If I tell anyone else, I'll probably get into huge trouble with my dad…" Sakura said.
"Ooh, awesome! Tell me!" Nigredo said excitedly, jumping off the swing.
"There's an anomaly in her system," Sakura whispered into his ear. Nigredo stepped away from her.
"Seriously? Wow, that's intense!" Nigredo said. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"If something goes wrong, she could end up destroying the entire star cluster…" Nigredo looked at Sakura, his green eyes wide with fear and awe…
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"Ah!" Gaignun inhaled sharply and his eyes snapped open as he woke up. He took a few deep breaths as he looked around at his darkened bedroom. "Shit…" he muttered, running his hands through his hair. Slowly, he stood up and slid on a pair of pants (while all of the rabid Gaignun fangirls ran about, screeching wildly) and a shirt before walking out of his room and to the Durandal.
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On the Dammerung, Wilhelm sat in his office, his head down on his desk. Suddenly, he raised his claret eyes and looked into the Compass of Order. "Ah, he's growing acute sensitive to loss...there's no way he could have handled being responsible for her death…" Wilhelm muttered to himself.
"Master Wilhelm? Who are you talking about?" Red Cloak asked, making Wilhelm jump out of his seat. When Wilhelm's heart stopped pounding, he turned to face the Testament.
"Why did you startle me like that?"
"You…fell asleep at your desk…" the Testament muttered.
"Oh. Well, in that case..." Wilhelm stood up. "I'll be right back," he said before walking towards the door. "Oh, and one thing…do not look into the Compass. You will be sorry…" The CEO walked out the door.
A minute passed, and Wilhelm hadn't yet returned. Red Cloak sighed and crossed his arms, rocking back and forth on his feet impatiently. He stole a quick glance at the Compass of Order, noticing that it was spinning faster on its axis than usual.
"That's weird…it wasn't going that fast before two days ago…" he muttered to himself. He began to twiddle his thumbs. The anticipation was getting the most of him.
That was when curiosity overcame him. Slowly and quietly, he crept over to Wilhelm's desk, put a finger on one of its edges, and closed his eyes. An image from two days previous flooded his mind, something he never would have wanted to see in a million years…
"What?" he snarled, falling backwards over Wilhelm's chair. Immediately, Wilhelm ran into the room, looking for the source of the scream. The Testament stood and charged at Wilhelm. He reared back and sent his fist at Wilhelm's face, when…
"Asato ma sad gamaya…" Wilhelm muttered under his breath. His claret eyes began glowing as a red aura surrounded him. Red Cloak cried out as his fist swung back at his own nose, which was protected by the mask.
"Stop hitting yourself…" Wilhelm said, smirking. Red Cloak growled and went at Wilhelm again, but Wilhelm ducked behind him and held both of his arms behind his back, restraining him.
"What did you see?" Wilhelm demanded loudly.
"I…I saw…" Red Cloak panted. "I saw Shion…and…and…"
"Oh dear…" Wilhelm muttered. "You saw…from two nights ago…"
"Yeah!" the other man growled. "Why is that on there?"
"It…it was necessary…" Wilhelm tried to explain.
"No! It wasn't necessary!" the Testament said, breaking out of Wilhelm's arm bar. "You promised me! You promised that I could…" The red-clad man sank to his knees. "Why? Why did it have to be like that?"
"Listen to me," Wilhelm began, pulling the man up from the ground. "It is in the nature of humankind to dwell on the past, but then we go on. On and on. We don't stop where it hurts. We turn a corner. It is what we were here to do. Turn a corner," he mused. "Ms. Uzuki discovered that a few days ago…my only question is…when will you?"
Red Cloak glanced over him as he spoke. Wilhelm was smaller than him, but yet he spoke so strongly. "B-but…"
"Take the rest of the evening off. You've seen a lot," Wilhelm said, placing a hand on Red Cloak's shoulder. The man nodded and left the office as Wilhelm sat down at his desk, sighing.
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"Hurry, Captain! We're going to be pulled into the Abyss with the fortress!"
Shion and the rest of the group had docked their E.S.s and entered the Elsa's bridge.
"Shut up, I know!" Matthews boomed at Shion. "Tony, what's up?"
"It's no good, Captain. The Logical Drive was damaged in the battle. We don't have enough thrust," Tony reported. "Hammer!"
"I'm working on it!" Hammer hissed at his pilot counterpart. "Damn, thrust is down 40. It's no good. She's still dropping!"
"What the? Who the hell slammed the ship into this place, anyway?" Tony asked.
"Well it was the Captain's idea, but Tony, you're the one who did the slamming!"
Hammer stated.
"God, who do you think you are? Carlton Banks?" Tony snapped.
"Shut up! Quit your bitching and do something already! You wanna die here!" Captain Matthews said, slamming his fists against his armrests. He had clearly had enough of Tony and Hammer.
Some of the wreckage got pulled into the black hole as the Ormus Stronghold began to fall apart. The Elsa rocked violently and Momo clung to Jr., not wanting to fall as Shion had. Jr. blushed and held onto her shoulders as the ship lurched again.
"We're losing it, Captain. We can't get away!" Tony cried.
"At this rate, we're not gonna last another minute!" Hammer began to panic.
Another explosion blasted the Elsa, and Jr. almost fell forwards. Jr. grabbed onto chaos, who grabbed onto Canaan, who grabbed onto Jin, who grabbed onto Allen, who grabbed onto Shion, who grabbed onto KOS-MOS. "Haha, human chain…" Jin snickered as KOS-MOS slowly pulled them up.
"There is a 99.998 chance that you all need to work on your balance," KOS-MOS stated bluntly.
Suddenly, a great green light appeared outside, shining through the view window. "Hey, what the hell's goin' on?" Matthews demanded.
"Captain, look!" Shion exclaimed, pointing outside.
Jr. looked out the windshield with relief and awe. "It's…it's the Durandal!"
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"Spiking my hair, doo doo doo, spiking my hair with gel-el-el…aww, that doesn't rhyme…" Nigredo hummed as he stood in front of the mirror in the variant's quarters, a tube of styling gel in his hand. That was his way of being "different" from all the other U.T.R.V.s, besides his hair and eye color of course. Today he was going to go with a new style…half spiked up, half smoothed down…he got strange looks from all the non-variants, but Rubedo and Albedo loved it.
As he narrowed his green eyes at his reflection and tried to get every strand as straight as possible, his mind trailed off to the events of two days ago, and earlier that day. "An anomaly in her system? I wonder what could be wrong…" he muttered to himself. "I wonder what her name is…and what she looks like…"
"Wonder who looks like what?" a nasally voice from behind him asked. Nigredo gasped and whirled around to see his light-haired brother, Albedo, standing behind him.
"Albedo…you could have given me a heart attack!" Nigredo gasped. "Are you guys up already?" Nigredo always had to get up earlier than his brothers if he wanted a chance to fix his hair…otherwise, it was nearly impossible to get into the lav.
"Yeah, we just woke up," Albedo said. "Rubedo needs to shower and I need to go. So get out of here." Nigredo nodded and started out the door.
"Wait, Nigredo!" Albedo said. Nigredo looked at him over his shoulder. "Who were you talking about? Who has an anomaly in their system?"
"Oh! Uh, n-nothing! Nobody!" Nigredo cried before tearing out of the bathroom.
"Master Gaignun?"
Gaignun snorted as his eyes snapped open, looking around the bridge of the Durandal. He looked in front of him to see Mary glancing up at him, her blue eyes filled with concern.
"Are you alright, Master Gaignun?" she asked.
"Oh. Yes, Mary, I'm fine…" Gaignun said in a tone just above a whisper.
"O-okay then…" Mary blushed. "Um, we just recovered the Elsa. I'm going to open a communication with the Little Master."
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"We go on. On and on. We don't stop where it hurts. We turn a corner. It is what we were here to do. Turn a corner."
Wilhelm's anthem repeated itself over and over in Red Cloak's head as he walked towards his quarters. When he stepped into the room, he stood in front of the small mirror, looking at his reflection. "Dammit…" he muttered, sliding his mask off. He looked at himself in the mirror, running his hand through his blue hair. He glanced into the mirror, seeing the pale skin of his face and his dulled blue eyes looking back at him. "Kevin…look at yourself…" he said, sighing. "It's been two years…of course she's gonna move on…"
He had a hard time listening to himself.
The man sighed again. "God…I haven't felt this bad since…"
"I will protect her…"
26-year-old Kevin Winnicot mumbled that mantra as his fingers worked their way across the keypad. Although he was only altering some of the commands on the archetype android, it felt as if he was trying to destroy the largest boulder in the universe with a plastic toy hammer. He wiped the sweat from his brow and took a deep breath before continuing.
"The plan will be put into action. I want you to do whatever possible to-" his mentor's words echoed in his mind.
He made few more keystrokes before glancing at the angel that they had created…
"keep her out of harm's-"
The fear and guilt grew inside of him as he continued glancing over KOS-MOS.
"way, for she will be the one to deliver-"
Kevin gripped both sides of the terminal and clenched his teeth before typing in the last commands.
"peace to the world."
"Yes, Master…" his own words returned to him. Slowly and weakly, he repeated his young self, "Yes, Master…"
The man straightened and grew pale as he looked at the keypad's monitor. "My God…what have I done?" he asked himself before closing the terminal, being sure to delete all history of the commands he had made that night. He let out a shaky sigh before standing and holding his stomach, running for the restroom…
"No!" Kevin yelled, snapping back to reality. He grunted angrily and threw his mask down, gritting his teeth when he heard the dull thud it made when it hit the floor. "Why, Kevin, why? You could have had it all…" The man stripped of his robe and collapsed on top of his bed, drifting into a restless sleep…
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"Elsa recovery confirmed!"
"The ship appears to have a damaged Logical Drive, and is incapable of flying under its own power."
The voices of a dozen 100-series realians rang out at once, shouting commands at one another. Mary glanced over her shoulder at Gaignun and said, "Well, at least now we can relax." Gaignun nodded as the communication window with Jr. opened in front of Mary.
"Hey, Mary," Jr. said tiredly.
"Oh, Little Master! Thanks goodness you're okay!" Mary said, relieved.
"Ah, well, I'm okay…" he said. "But do you think this is infected?" he said, showing her the large puncture wound on his arm. The sleeve of his red trenchcoat was wet with even redder blood.
"Ew," Mary said quickly, turning her head.
"Hehehe," Jr. giggled at her reaction. "What the heck are you guys doing here, anyway?"
"What? We came here to rescue you!" Mary said, cocking her head to the side. Suddenly, she caught sight of Tony and Hammer square-dancing behind Jr. She brought a hand to her mouth, starting to laugh.
"What is it?" Jr. asked. "You think this is funny?" Mary continued to laugh, even harder this time.
"Oh, so I'm humorous, eh? Well try this on for size!" Jr. cleared his throat. "Texas sucks!" he yelled at her, punching the air in front of him.
"No, Little Master! Look behind you!" Mary said, pointing over Jr.'s shoulder.
He flashed Mary a confused look before turning around. As soon as he caught sight of Tony and Hammer, he yelled, "Hey! Enough of that! We have enough vibes here on this ship, especially with Shion and Allen making out at any given moment!"
"We resent that!" Shion hollered at him, removing her lips from Allen's.
There was a long pause, in which everyone stared at Shion and Allen. "Whoops…" Shion blushed.
"Master Gaignun instructed us to come here. He said if we let the Little Master handle everything, he was bound to do something reckless," Shelley finally explained.
"And it looks like he was right, huh?" Mary teased.
"Naaah! He's always treating me like a kid," Jr. growled. "So, where's the big shot at now, anyway?"
"Jr., I'm right here…" Gaignun said, popping out from behind Mary.
"Oh, there you are. Didn't see you there," Jr. said. "It's too bad that you didn't…er…adopt me when I was a little baby…you would've been great at peek-a-boo!"
A clunking noise was heard on the Elsa"Elsa recovery complete," said a 100-series.
"See you guys on board!" Jr. said. Just before the monitor went black, Mary could hear Jr. saying, "Oi! Shion and Allen, what did I tell you two about that?"
Laughing at him, she said, "He's hopeless…" before resting her head against Gaignun's chest.
Shelley grumbled something inaudible.
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"Ah, smells like home…" Jr. said, deeply inhaling the scent of the Durandal. "I'm gonna go get a band-aid…or a gauze patch…or just some Neosporin or something…" he said, pointing to his arm. The shorty jogged away from the group and towards the Infirmary.
"I'll be right back, you guys," Allen said, going off into opposite direction. The others headed towards the bridge.
About ten minutes later, Shion, Ziggy, chaos, and Momo stepped onto the bridge, and were greeted enthusiastically by Mary and Shelley. Gaignun stood next to them, shaking hands with all of them.
"Welcome back to the Durandal, Ms. Uzuki," Gaignun said formally.
"Thanks…for…you know, saving us," Shion said. Again, she looked at Gaignun oddly just as she had done when they first met. As she passed him, he glanced at her. It's growing stronger…there's no denying it now… he thought to himself.
What's growing stronger? Jr.'s voice echoed in his head as he saw the red-head enter the bridge.
Nothing. Never mind. Gaingun replied.
Whatever…
"Ooh, Shion, where's your new beau?" Mary asked Shion.
"I actually don't know where he is right now," Shion said, looking over her shoulder anxiously.
"Yeah, Shion where's your new beau?" Jr. mocked. "God! He's all she thinks about anymore!"
"Oh, yeah, and it's much better with you and Momo flirting every time I turn around!" Shion joked.
"Pssh, okay, and every time I turn around, I see you and Allen fu-"
"Did somebody say my name?"
Shion's heart leaped into her throat at the sound of her lover's voice. She turned around to look at him, her jaw dropping when she saw him.
"Woah," was the only thing she could say.
"H-he got rid of the uniform!" Jr. yelled, smiling and jumping up and down.
It was true. Allen had changed out of his Vector uniform. He was wearing a black polo shirt tucked into blue jeans. His hair was gelled up in the front, showing off his crystalline blue eyes. This time, Shion, not Jr., was the one who could only stare. He was hot!
"Well?" Allen asked.
"Wait! Guys!" Jr. shouted, his voice echoing throughout the bridge. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. "Shion's transmitting me her thoughts!" he said. "Okay. From now on, whatever I say right now will be Shion's words, not mine." Jr. cleared his throat before exclaiming in a very high-pitched voice, "Oh! My! God! People, look at Allen! He is so smexy! Look at those eyes! Those big pretty eyes! And that ass! Ooh, I feel like I'm going to explode just looking at him!" Jr. threw his head back and moaned dramatically before continuing. "Oh, Allen! Take me now!"
Jr. ran over to Allen and stuck his ass in Allen's face. "C'mon, take a bottle, shake it up! Break the bubble, break it up!" he sang. He faced Allen and began dancing dirty to him, singing, "Pour some sugar on me, ooh, in the name of love! Pour some sugar on me, c'mon, fire me up! Pour your sugar on me, oh, I can't get enough! I'm hot, sticky sweet from my head to my feet, YEAH!"
As Jr. continued his odd little tribute to Def Leppard, Allen stared at him with a look of utter disgust. Shion glared at Jr., her teeth bared. She walked over to him and smacked him across the face.
At the sound of her palm whacking his cheek, everyone on the bridge fell silent.
"Ooh…that's gotta hurt…" Mary winced.
"I must say," Jr. said, eyes wide, index finger in the air, "I deserved every inch of that slap."
"Ew. He was sweaty," Shion said, rubbing her palm against her thigh. "Allen…you look…amazing!" she said. "Just let me do one thing," she said, sexily sliding her hands below the waistband of his jeans and untucking the shirt. "That's better…" she whispered before kissing him.
Jr. growled as he shouted, "No! We are on our way to freaking Old Miltia! There shall be no freaking on the way to freaking Old Miltia!" He began to fume. Everyone in the bridge looked at him, confused.
He took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm good," he whispered. "So what's the enemy's status?" he asked Shelley.
"I'm afraid I don't have very good news," Shelley stated grimly. "The Immigrant Fleet has already descended into Miltia."
"Damn. We don't have much time. If we don't hurry, we're gonna lose the Zohar. Move the Elsa into the Foundation's dock. Have it repaired to Captain Matthews' specifications. We're goin' right back out," Jr. said.
"Ooh, y'all will probably have a chance to go to the beach first! We'll be docking at the Foundation in a minute, and it'll take a little while to repair the Elsa!" Mary said before exiting the bridge.
"Good thing I got a new swimsuit…" Allen muttered.
"Yeah, thank goodness!" Jr. cried. "That old one hurt the eyes! It was like acid! Pinstripe acid!"
A transmission beep was heard from Shelley's terminal. "Little Master, there's a transmission from Helmer. Shall I accept it?" she asked.
"Yeah, hook us up."
The communication hologram popped up, and Helmer's face appeared. "Helmer. I'm sorry. We let them get ahead of us," Jr. said, looking at the ground.
"It's all right. It's more important that you're safe. I'm glad you made it back," Helmer said.
"So, what's the situation now?" Jr. asked, scratching the back of his neck.
"I'm afraid the news is grim. It seems the Parliament's been thrown into complete disarray," he explained in barely a whisper.
"What's going on with the Federation fleet? Don't tell me they're just standing around watching?" Jr. said in disbelief.
"No, they've already been deployed on a descent mission, but it's too late," Helmer said. "As long as the possibility exists that the enemy already has the Zohar, the Federation can't make any large-scale overtures."
"So I guess it's up to us now," Jr. said determinedly. There was a pause in which everyone looked at each other solemnly, worried about what could happen if U-TIC got the Zohar.
"I'm acutely aware of the danger, but there's no one else we can turn to right now. Please lend us your aid," Helmer spoke, breaking the silence.
"All right. We'll get the Zohar. You can count on it!" Jr. whooped, shutting off the communication monitor.
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"Woot! The beach!"
"Woot?"
"Yeah, woot!" Jr. yelled, pointing towards the water. "Last one in has to use the same bed as Shion and Allen!" he exclaimed, pulling his t-shirt over his head and running towards the clear blue water.
"He's an idiot…" Shion sighed, watching as he dove headfirst into the water. Frantic cries of "Ahhh! Too cold! Too cold!" followed. They looked into the artificial ocean to see the Little Master splashing around, trying to get out. When he finally stepped ashore, he rolled around in the sand, trying to get warm.
"Wh-what is that?" Shion asked, pointing at Jin's swimsuit…loincloth?
"That's my swimsuit, Shion," Jin stated nonchalantly. Shion gasped and covered her eyes.
"I have an idea!" Momo suddenly yelled.
"What is it, Momo?" chaos asked.
"Let's bury Jr.!" she said happily. Jr. looked at her with a frightened expression.
"How about we don't bury Jr. and say we did?" Jr. offered.
No such luck for Jr. The dug a hole and put him in it, the sand reaching up to his neck. "Guys, I'm going to kill you!" he said through a clenched jaw. Momo kneeled in front of him and smiled, messing up his hair. "Ah! Hey! Not the hair!" He laughed. She noticed a bullet dangling around his neck.
"Jr., what's that?" she asked, pointing to it. "Is it a bullet?"
"Yeah. It's a really old bullet…ancient, even…" Jr. started, looking at it. "It's called 'The Magic Bullet'. Some six thousand years ago, the leader of a great nation was murdered. This bullet didn't kill him, but it was special nonetheless."
"What happened?" asked Momo, interested.
"The leader of the nation was struck in the back of the neck with this bullet. It came out the front…then completely changed direction to strike another leader in the side. It then went through the second leader's wrist and embedded itself in his thigh," Jr. said. "When they found the bullet, it was completely pristine. I think it's a load of bullshit, though. There's no way a bullet could do that."
Momo nodded. "That's interesting!" she said cheerfully.
Momo ran off to go play volleyball with chaos and Jin. Shion sat down one of the chairs under the umbrella. Allen settled next to her, resting his head in her lap. "Mmm…" she moaned as she closed her eyes.
"So…how are you doing?" Allen asked.
"Mmm…good…" she replied. "You?"
"Perfect…"
Lingering in the moment, Shion ran her fingers through Allen's hair, tugging at a few of the light brown strands. "I smell Axe…" Shion muttered, inhaling the sweet aroma.
"What kind?" Jr. asked form his burial spot two feet away from them.
"Why are you eavesdropping on us?" Shion asked.
Ignoring her comment, he said, "I wear Unlimited spray…Allen wears Essence spray…Gaignun uses Kilo shower gel, but he's not here right now…and chaos wears Touch solid. Which one do you smell?"
"Ooh, it's definitely the Essence…" Shion half-moaned. "That's the best scent…"
"No it's not," Jr. said quickly. "Unlimited is."
"To females, Essence smells the best," Shion stated.
"Well, to males and shims, Unlimited smells the best," Jr. argued.
"Why would you want to attract males?" Shion asked.
"What about Touch?" chaos called from across the beach.
But Shion didn't hear him…she already had her face buried in Allen's neck, smelling the beautiful scent that was Axe Essence. Allen groaned softly as her lips worked across the soft skin.
"Oh, great…and best of all, I can't move now," Jr. muttered, looking at the two of them. He wiggled violently, trying to escape his sandy grave. He stopped and panted, saying, "Man! How did they get this packed so tight?"
Shion settled herself on Allen's bare chest, moaning as he ran his hands down her slender midsection. "Oh God, oh God…" Jr. said, becoming more desperate to get out of the sand. He wriggled more, accidentally bumping a button on the weather controller in his pocket. Rain began to fall around the beach, and the volleyball players took refuge under the umbrella. "This sucks!" Jr. yelled, being pounded with rain.
"Mmm…it's raining," Allen said, kissing the sensitive spot just below Shion's right ear.
"I couldn't imagine a more perfect setting," Shion replied, cocking her head to the side, giving him more access. She moaned his name as he kissed her on the mouth, gently lapping her tongue with his own.
"I think I'm gonna hurl," Jr. said, pretending to retch. The rain continued to fall as Jr. tried to find a way to shut it off. Despite the cold rain falling around them, Shion and Allen were hotter than ever. Jin began to fume as he thought he saw steam rising from their bodies.
"Mmm…uhhnn…Allen…" Shion's breathing had grown quicker and shallower. Jr. rolled his eyes and mimicked her until a cover of darkness came over him as chaos put a bucket over his head. "Hey! Get this offa me!" he screamed, his voice echoing in the dome.
"Bucket head!" He heard Jin snicker. With renewed determination, he jammed his knee into the side of the sand wall around him, shutting off the rain. He bashed his head against the front of the bucket and flipped it off of his head.
"Little Master," Shelley called from off of the beach, "The Elsa's repairing is finished. You should head out now."
"Right. Let's go, people," chaos said, leading them off the beach.
"Aw man…" Shion whispered to Allen.
"Later…" he replied, kissing her one last time.
They all exited the beach, leaving behind something very valuable.
Something they would have hated to lose. And I say that with the utmost sarcasm I can.
"Hey! Guys! Wait for me!" Jr. yelled, kicking and punching the walls of his prison. chaos came onto the beach and grabbed him by the head, and in an explosion of sand, Jr. was freed.
"I guess this makes us even," chaos said, chuckling.
"I'll never be even with you!" Jr. said, brushing himself off with a scowl on his face.
"What, you mean height-wise?" chaos asked before running off the beach, laughing hysterically.
"You! I'm going to kill you!" Jr. growled, taking off after him.
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Matthews looked at the door to the Elsa's bridge as it opened. The group stepped on, fully clothed and ready to go.
"Yo, are we ready to head out?" he asked Shion and Jr. They looked at each other and nodded.
"Alright, Tony, hit it!" he commanded.
"Aye aye, sir!" Tony yelled. The Elsa shot off towards the Immigrant Fleet. They popped into Old Miltia at just about sunset…the elegant blend of colors in the sky were perfect and beautiful.
"Oh, wow! The capital looks like it used to!" Hammer said, pointing out the view window.
"Everything's exactly like it was then. Time has stopped in this world," Jr. said.
"The country of the hills of Mud, the land of Mu, was sacrificed. Being twice upheaved, it suddenly disappeared in one night. At last the surface gave way...and they sank along with their countries…" chaos mused.
"What's that?" Momo asked him.
"A fairy tale. A story about a land that vanished into the sea one night, long ago," he explained.
"Sacrificed... It definitely feels like it just looking of this place," Shion said absent-mindedly.
chaos nodded. "Yes…it does." Just as he will be…the seventh dagger…
"Attention passengers. We'll soon be arriving at the designated coordinates. There's no way we're gonna get any further in this big hunk of metal," Matthews said roughly. "So, if you wanna check inside any of those buildings, you're gonna have to do it on your own." Jr. nodded and narrowed his eyes, looking at his desolate home planet.
"All right, let's hurry up and get this over with. I don't wanna spend too much time here, you know?"
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A/N: WOOT! I AM SO PHYCHED! Xeno 3 was confirmed! –Dances about merrily- And the Steelers are doing awesome!
Okay, question time!
What's up with Shion again? Her eyes, still! Who and what is Gaignun talking about? Who is "the seventh dagger"? Why did I mention JFK in here?
Until next time, this is KOS-MOS rox, signing off!